Hatsubai « Good guitar but awful finish »
Published on 03/19/11 at 06:11The Schecter C7 Hellraiser FR is very similar to the model Jeff Loomis originally played for all those years. It features a mahogany body, maple top, mahogany set neck and rosewood fretboard. The guitar is equipped with an Original Floyd Rose 7 string floyd, EMG 707TW pickups which are splittable, two volume knobs and one tone knob. On paper, this guitar is very well equipped. It's actually one of the top of the line models that Schecter releases in their standard series, but it's still made over in Korea.
UTILIZATION
When I received mine, it was covered in dirt. They must have rushed it during the production because the finish was pretty bad. The finish on these guitars is just so thick that I couldn't really get used to it. The OFR also had some sort of issue with the bar that would cause it to rattle like crazy. The bars on the OFR 7 string models tend to be slightly undersized or something which causes an odd tone during fluttering. Fretwork was average, and the neck was extremely thick. If you dislike thick necks, I recommend avoiding this.
SOUNDS
The tone woods are generally pretty good, but this model didn't really sound that impressive for whatever reason. I mean, it sounded decent, but nothing really stood out for me. I preferred my RG1527 in every possible way. The EMG707s actually have a somewhat single coil kinda tone going on; they're a bit of a mix between an 81 and an 85. The TW feature allows them to be split (actually, it enables another pickup inside the housing), and it helps make this guitar somewhat versatile.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're going to look into buying one of these, you really need to play one first. Schecter is pretty notorious for having really thick finishes and sometimes mediocre fretwork. The necks on them tend to be on the thicker side, so those that like thinner necks might be a bit disappointed. Also, don't forget that this is a longer scale guitar; some people like that and some people don't. Go to your local GC and test one out before making the jump, especially with the price increase on these guitars.
UTILIZATION
When I received mine, it was covered in dirt. They must have rushed it during the production because the finish was pretty bad. The finish on these guitars is just so thick that I couldn't really get used to it. The OFR also had some sort of issue with the bar that would cause it to rattle like crazy. The bars on the OFR 7 string models tend to be slightly undersized or something which causes an odd tone during fluttering. Fretwork was average, and the neck was extremely thick. If you dislike thick necks, I recommend avoiding this.
SOUNDS
The tone woods are generally pretty good, but this model didn't really sound that impressive for whatever reason. I mean, it sounded decent, but nothing really stood out for me. I preferred my RG1527 in every possible way. The EMG707s actually have a somewhat single coil kinda tone going on; they're a bit of a mix between an 81 and an 85. The TW feature allows them to be split (actually, it enables another pickup inside the housing), and it helps make this guitar somewhat versatile.
OVERALL OPINION
If you're going to look into buying one of these, you really need to play one first. Schecter is pretty notorious for having really thick finishes and sometimes mediocre fretwork. The necks on them tend to be on the thicker side, so those that like thinner necks might be a bit disappointed. Also, don't forget that this is a longer scale guitar; some people like that and some people don't. Go to your local GC and test one out before making the jump, especially with the price increase on these guitars.